June 2019

Air Innovations LLC Explains How to Change an AC Filter

Though they are a feature of the home that tends to go overlooked, air conditioning filters are vital to indoor air quality. AC filters not only help keep your home’s air clean, but they also contribute to your entire HVAC system working more efficiently. To ensure your air conditioning filter is effectively doing its job, it’s essential to change it when you notice a buildup. Over time, dust, debris, allergens, and various particles will accumulate in the filter as your system pulls in air. Don’t worry! This is normal and means your air conditioning filter is working correctly. The problem is, dirty AC filters block the free flow of air and drastically reducing the efficiency of your cooling system. Learning how to maintain your air conditioning filter properly will ensure your HVAC system is running reliably.

Locating Your Air Conditioning Filter

It may seem self-explanatory but finding your air conditioning filter can be one of the hardest aspects of actually changing your filter. When looking within a home or business, there are several places your HVAC system and AC filter could be located. Typically, your filter will be found in the following locations:

Central air return register – this is a larger sized grille often situated in an open area of the home, such as the wall, ceiling, or floor. The AC filter can be found behind the grill, which you will probably need a screwdriver to remove.
Air handler – homes that have multiple return registers will often have AC filters that are installed right in front of the air handler. Look for a long, narrow slot on your HVAC system; you should be able to slide the filter right out.
Window unit – you will find this AC filter in, you guessed it, your window. The filter will be located directly behind the place on the unit where the cold air is released.

Some homes and businesses have multiple HVAC systems, which will require you to search several locations and make AC filter replacements accordingly. Some possible areas of the house to check for your HVAC systems include:

Attics
Garages
Basements
Crawlspaces
Small Closet (for apartment owners)

When it comes to the filter itself, look for a slot containing that will look like a large windowpane with a frame made of cardboard or plastic. The inside portion of the air conditioning filter is typically ribbed or pleated in a crisscross design and will vary in color depending on the age of the filter. If after searching you are still unable to find your AC filter, contact our seasoned professionals at Air Innovations, LLC, and we’d love to assist you.

When to Change Your Air Conditioning Filter

Now that you’ve found where your air conditioning filters are located, you can begin checking to see if they need replacing. The are many factors that will indicate if your filter is no longer serving its purpose, which will affect energy efficiency, your home’s comfort levels, as well as air circulation and quality. Some tell-tale signs your AC filter needs changing are:

The filter is noticeably gray in color and contains dirt and dust build up on its pleats and inner crevices
You notice that your home has become dustier than usual
Your cooling system is cycling longer than it typically would
Your allergies seem to be acting up while in the home
Your filter has been in use longer than the specific manufacturers recommended time-frame

The average air conditioning filter needs replaced every 90 days. If you or someone in your family has asthma or allergies, that time-frame drops to 42 days (change every six weeks.) Additionally, if you have pets living in your home that shed, you will want to replace your AC filter every two months to make up for excess hair buildup (the same time-frame will apply for people who smoke inside their home). A good rule of thumb: when in doubt, it’s always a better idea to replace your filter. They are relatively inexpensive and could save you from having to make some significant HVAC repairs in the future.

How to Change Your Air Conditioning Filter

Now that you are equipped with the necessary information surrounding air conditioning filtration, it’s time to change your AC filter. This is the easiest part of the entire process and can be completed in a few simple steps. To start,

Carefully remove the dated filter. You should be able to pull the frame out of the designated slot with little to no force.
Thoroughly wipe down the area around the slot with a damp washcloth, making sure to remove any dust or cobwebs that could hinder your new filter from working correctly.
Date the new filter. This is an important step many tend to forget. By writing the replacement date on the frame of your new filter, it will make it easy to recall the last time it was replaced.
Slide the new filter into place. There will be arrows on the frame indicating the direction in which the air will be pulled into the register/air handler. Make sure your filters arrows are pointing into the system, not towards the house.

It’s as simple as that! If when you are changing your air conditioning filter, and you notice excessive dust in return ducts, water around the air handler, or any other issues you’ll want to reach out to professionals as soon as possible.

Air Innovations LLC Explains SEER Rating

SEER is a maximum efficacy rating that stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio and determines the annual energy consumption and efficiency of a unit’s total cooling output in typical day-to-day use. The higher the SEER rating, the less energy a heat pump or air conditioning will need to do its job efficiently. To calculate SEER, you must take the total cooling capacity during a typical cooling-season divided by the total electric energy input produced during the same period.

Understanding the SEER Rating

To clear up some confusion early on in this article, we want to break down the SEER rating into less complicated terms. To start, a SEER rating is a maximum efficiency rating, meaning a unit’s score can be as high as 26 SEER. Which does not mean that the unit will always rate 26 SEER. To help break this down even further, we can use the comparable example of miles per gallon (MPG). If you buy a car with a high MPG but are constantly driving it around like a race car driver, you won’t be getting the high MPG rating you had hoped.

Similarly, if you are continually changing the temperature of your house, or if your climates temperature is prone to frequent fluctuation, you will not be obtaining the full potential of your SEER value. That’s why deciding on a higher SEER rating or an average one only matters to you and your individual needs and circumstances. If you are located in Houston, TX and want to learn about which HVAC system and SEER rating would be best for you, contact our specialists today!

Improvements in Heating Pump and AC SEER Ratings

Before the SEER rating had been implemented, HVAC equipment was solely rated off how much energy was used while the system was running at full capacity in a controlled environment. Since this rating-type does not take into account the various factors that affect typical efficiency, SEER was developed as a more comprehensive rating system. SEER provides consumers with a much more accurate representation of the average energy use of an air conditioning unit or heat pump in cooling mode, taking into account important factors, such as:

Climate

Part-load efficiency

Standby mode energy consumption

Fluctuating load requirements

In the past few decades, there have been many efforts to improve the overall efficiency of heating pumps and air conditioners. While customers used to purchase units based on their cooling power alone, today, rising energy costs have buyers more concerned with operating cost. Operating costs can be defined as the amount of money it takes to produce the level of cooling power a particular buyer desires. SEER ratings for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems manufactured today have a range of 13-14 (depending on your state’s requirements) to 26 SEERs, with dated models having a rating of 6 to 10. With that being said, many people are under the impression that modern 13-14 SEER is bottom of the barrel when in all actuality, a modern minimum SEER will perform drastically better than that of an older 6-10 SEER. The point is, if you’re in the market for a heating pump or air conditioning unit, chances are even with the minimum SEER, your efficiency will already be going up. It’s true that higher SEER ratings typically indicate the most efficient units that offer the most energy savings annually. So whether you prefer a higher SEER vs. an average one, it all depends on your needs.

How SEER Ratings Are Determined

SEER AC and heating pump ratings are based on efficiency tests required by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). These tests assume an outdoor temperature of 82˚F, an indoor temperature of 80˚F, and an indoor relative humidity of 50%. This rating system implies that an air conditioning unit with a SEER rating of 16 is 60% more efficient than a 10 SEER unit. Of course, this is only a relevant conclusion if your home just so happens to match the test conditions. The DOE obviously can’t go to every house and rate the efficiency of each condition, that’s why we want to use the SEERs rating as a guideline and not an absolute. The U.S. contains a plethora of varying climates, and in some regions, the maximum temperature could be as high as 102˚F, far above the 82˚F used to rate an HVAC system according to the DOE. It goes without saying that this difference in temperature will most definitely affect the rated efficiency of the unit.

How to Get the Best SEERs Rating for Your Home

If you are looking to buy a new heat pump or air conditioning unit and want to know what SEERs rating is best for your home (or business), here are some critical questions to be asking yourself:

What is the square footage of your home?

Where is your home located?

How hot does your area get in the summer?

How cold does your area get in the winter?

Does your home reside in a shaded area?

Do you have a basement or slab?

What is your roof’s color?

There’s a lot to factor in when trying to figure out what a good SEER rating is for your circumstances. Our skilled professionals at Air Innovations LLC in Houston, TX would be happy to go through these questions with you if you need assistance.

(281) 830-2412